New Mexico lawmakers injected a dose of political pressure Monday into an unwavering but so far unsuccessful effort to add opioid use disorder to the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis in New Mexico.

The New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program started 2018 on a high note, with the most enrolled patients it has ever had. As the month of January came to an end, the program had 47,840 registered patients, a nearly 50% increase from January 2017.

ALBUQUERQUE, Feb. 8, 2018 /Weed Wire/ — New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program ended January 2018 with 47,840 enrolled patients according to the New Mexico Department of Health report, a 49 percent increase over the same month in 2017.

Recreational cannabis might be heading for the New Mexico ballot in 2018. On Feb. 2, 2018, the New Mexico Senate Rules Committee voted 4-3 to approve Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino’s Senate Joint Resolution 4, a measure which would allow state residents to vote on cannabis legalization in the next general election.

ALBUQUERQUE, Jan 5., 2018 /Weed Wire/ — Patient enrollment in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program hit 46,645 as of December 31, 2017, finishing the year with a 61 percent increase over the January 1, 2017 cardholder numbers. The New Mexico medical program appears to be growing at nearly twice the pace of neighboring Arizona.

A New Mexico legislator is once again working to legalize recreational marijuana. On Dec. 21, 2017, state Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino introduced a measure that would put a ballot amendment legalizing recreational marijuana on the 2018 electoral ballot.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Dec. 11, 2017 /Weed Wire/ — Patient enrollment in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program reached 45,347 as of November 30, 2017, a 77 percent increase and a 19,650 net patient gain over the same period last year.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Oct. 4, 2017 /Weed Wire/ — Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 Cannabis Company, achieved $1.1 million in sales for the month of September 2017, the highest single month revenue ever recorded by a New Mexico cannabis provider.

The city of Albuquerque has denied a New Mexico medical marijuana provider the chance to advertise their business on city buses. Citing federal funding concerns, Ultra Health, the state’s top medical marijuana company, will have to forego plans to promote its business via the ABQ Ride Buses.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Aug. 8, 2017 /Weed Wire/ — The 35 Licensed Non-Profit Producers (LNPPs) licensed a total of 14,550 plants through July 31, 2018, an increase of 750 plants or 5 percent since August 1, 2016, while the program’s enrollment is expected to grow by more than 42,000 patients or 150 percent for the same period.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., June 28, 2017 /Weed Wire/ —Ultra Health, New Mexico’s #1 medical cannabis company with a nationwide presence, has released the first pharmaceutical grade, accurately dosed medical cannabis products to the New Mexico market.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., May 31, 2017 /Weed Wire/ — New Mexico Top Organics-Ultra Health filed a complaint against three EXPO New Mexico officials for unconstitutional attempts to limit the company’s rights to display a cannabis educational and informative booth at the New Mexico State Fair in 2017.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., May 9, 2017 /Weed Wire/ – The Medical Cannabis Program’s patient enrollment reached 40,432 patients as of April 30, 2017, an increase of more than 5,500 patients since March according to the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH).

SANTA FE, N.M., April 24, 2017 /Weed Wire/ — Based upon historical data, estimates show total single-day revenue for New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program reached $800,000 on April 20, 2017, three times the revenue over the same period last year. More than 12,400 patients purchased 124 pounds of cannabis each spending an average of $65.

SANTA FE, N.M., April 7, 2017 /Weed Wire/ — On Friday, April 7, New Mexico could become the first state in the nation to specifically list opioid use disorder as medical condition that qualifies for access to the state medical marijuana program.

Although hopes for legalizing recreational marijuana in New Mexico have been sidelined until the next legislative session, marijuana advocates might yet score a legislative victory in the Land of Enchantment.

On Feb. 8, 2017, the New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee voted to endorse Senate Bill 8, a bill that would, among many other changes, allow United States military veterans residing in New Mexico to use medical marijuana, regardless of diagnosis.

Two New Mexico state legislators are touting marijuana legalization as a way to bring more revenue into the state’s coffers. Rep. Bill McCamley, a Democrat from Mesilla Park, NM, has sponsored a bill in the New Mexico House of Representatives that would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana for adults. Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, a Democrat from Albuquerque, has sponsored an identical bill in the Senate.

On Nov. 4, 2016, the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board to the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program voted in favor of adding “opiate use disorder” to the state’s list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana as a treatment option.

On Sept. 28, 2016, the University of Mexico announced the Medical Cannabis Research Fund. Associate Professor Jacob Vigil in the Department of Psychology created the MCRF to aid medical cannabis research in social and biomedical sciences.

The Marijuana Policy Project has endorsed Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson for president. “We don’t take a position—and we therefore don’t take into account a candidate’s position—on other issues, such as abortion, guns, gay rights, Iraq, taxes, or Social Security,” Rob Kampia, Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said.

In New Mexico, the Department of Health is taking longer than legally allowed to approve applications for medical marijuana cards. While the law requires the state’s work on applications to be completed within 30 days, the Department of Health currently is taking more than 60 days, according to the Drug Policy Alliance.

On Feb. 29, 2016, the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe broke ground on a new medical marijuana dispensary near downtown Vegas, with additional plans to open a cultivation facility on the tribe’s Snow Mountain Reservation.

On Feb. 29, 2016, the New Mexico Department of Health published the state’s list of Licensed Nonprofit Producers, with the list having last been updated on Jan. 29. In its list, the DOH provides the names, addresses and contact information for the 23 independent LNPPs.

On Feb. 27, 2016, KRQE News 13 in Albuquerque reported that two young Girl Scouts were selling their Girl Scout cookies outside of Ultra Health, a medical marijuana dispensary in Albuquerque, that afternoon.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 22, 2015 /Weed Wire/ — The New Mexico Department of Health’s Medical Cannabis Program has awarded BioTrackTHC™, a division of Bio-Tech Medical Software, Inc., a contract for the provision and deployment of an integrated patient and provider tracking software application.

New Mexico’s Department of Health would like to charge an annual $50 for patients to renew their registry ID cards. However, the proposal to triple annual licensing fees to a maximum of $90,000 for each producer seems high, even though the new regulations would allow each producer to have 300 seedlings in addition to 150 mature plants.

MJINews was started to aggregate, report and opine on various ways to make money in the legal marijuana industry. While medical marijuana has been legal in many states for years, its legalization for recreational use in Colorado and Washington in 2014 has catapulted the entire subject to new heights.
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